Fortnite-maker Epic Games has accused Apple of “kneecapping the competition” in its latest swipe at the company after being banned from the App Store for avoiding Apple’s payment rules.
Epic Games says it has filed a complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) “in support of its investigation into Apple’s anticompetitive behaviour.”
Earlier this month the CMA confirmed it had received complaints from “several developers reporting that Apple‘s terms and conditions are unfair and could break competition law”.
Epic Games makes the popular game Fortnite
Epic Games did not say when it had filed its complaint, but described it “as an important step in Epic’s continued global fight for fairer digital platforms”.
The argument began last year when Epic said it was introducing a direct payment plan in the Fortnite app, meaning players would bypass Apple’s own payment system in iOS – which Apple takes a cut from – and Google’s payment system in Android.
The move prompted Apple and Google to drop Fortnite from their app stores and to accuse the developer of breaching guidelines. Epic launched a lawsuit against Apple as a result.
In its announcement, Epic’s chief executive Tim Sweeney accused Apple of “kneecapping the competition and exerting its monopoly power over app distribution and payments”.
The Fortnite-maker is also challenging Apple in the US and Australia, and has filed an antitrust complaint against the company with the European Union.
A spokesperson for Apple said: “It is not surprising that Epic is pushing their agenda before the CMA, as we have seen them use the same playbook around the world.
“Now that they have achieved massive success through the App Store, becoming a multi-billion pound corporation, Epic wants to operate under a different set of rules than the ones that apply to all other developers.
“The result would be weakened privacy and data security protections for our customers, and we think that’s wrong.”